This invention relates to damage-resistant containment devices and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to transportable damage-resistant containment devices, such as transportable cargo tanks, and methods of transporting bulk materials and fluids in damage-resistant containment devices.
Traditionally, bulk materials and fluids, such as water, oil, gasoline, other hydrocarbons, acids, etc., have been stored and transported in metal containers or tanks. Metal tanks have been used because of their strength, the availability of metal materials, the ability of metals to form into reliable containers, and their relatively low cost factor compared to other traditional materials having comparable qualities.
There are non-metallic materials which are as readily available, which are less expensive, which are more easily and inexpensively formed into tanks, and which are lighter in weight than metal. Such materials include polymers, such as polyolefins.
However, there are problems in using the non-metallic materials. Commonly, the non-metallic materials are more easily fractured, punctured, or otherwise ruptured, even though they will structurally contain and support the bulk material, fluids, or other contents.
In the past, some of the non-metal materials have been used in combination with strengthening materials, such as inside a metal shell. U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,892, issued to Carlin, Jr., discloses one such composite tank.
There are shortcomings in the use of strengthening materials or metals in combination with the non-metal tanks. For example, the use of two materials drives up the overall cost of the material content of the container as well as the cost of making the container, i.e., the composite structure requires additional assembly and manufacturing time.
Lining Technologies, Inc. of Port Allen, La., has been bullet-proofing United States Coast Guard boats with unmatrixed high-strength polyethylene fibers and protecting foam buoys with a coating of high strength polyethylene fibers in a polyurethane matrix. Lining Technologies has been using Spectra 900 fibers, which are made by the High Performance Fiber Group of Allied-Signal, Inc. and a methyl-di-iso-cynate aliphatic polyurethane, which is sold under the tradename Seathane.TM. by Lining Technologies, to make the protective coating for foam buoys.
However, neither the bullet-proofing used by Lining Technologies to protect boats nor the coating used to protect foam buoys has been applied to containers for bulk materials and fluids, and, more particularly, has not been applied to transportable cargo containers for hazardous fluids.
Therefore, there is a need for a damage-resistant containment device which does not require the use of metals and for an improved method of transporting cargo in a damage-resistant containment device.